My friend and documentary filmmaker Mike Rubbo recently made a very inspiring short film that captures a day spent with Australian city councillor Jackie Fristacky. Jackie is a city councillor in Yarra City area of Melbourne where she previously served as Mayor in 2005-2006.

What sets Jackie apart from your typical city councillor is that she commutes to city hall on her bicycle and travels to meetings using pedal power.

In the video, Mr. Rubbo rides the train from his home in Sydney to Melbourne to spend a typical day with the Australian councillor.

In some European cities, it might be normal for a city councillor to ride her bike everywhere – but in Australia (and likewise here in Canada) Jackie is considered a rare breed.

Jackie has helped lead the push for Yarra City to boast the highest rate of cycling in all of Australia – at just under 10%. Imagine what Jackie could accomplish if Australia rescinded its helmet legislation.

Mike hopes that his video will provide a model for other city councillors to follow to improve the rate of cycling in their cities – so please send the video to your local councillor or any councillor who may be interested.

Jackie can also be contacted directly if you would like to ask her for more details on Yarra:

…it would be more inspiring if jackie ‘dumped’ the helmet and the hi-viz vest!

http://www.blogger.com/profile/04454437680686627778 James D. Schwartz

hah, I knew I could count on you to comment on the helmet and the vest Sue I completely agree with you, and it’s especially sad that Jackie feels compelled to wear that reflective vest in the middle of the day.

But to be honest, it still feels good to see a politician riding a bike (and not just for political reasons).

Anonymous

Well done Councillor!

Canning Street sounds busy with 1000 cyclists a day.

Though technically not a street, the Narrows Bridge in Perth sees 2000 cyclists on a week day, with a total of 587,000 cycle movement last year (yes, there are counters).